Assessing the Impact of Examination Malpractices on the Measurement of Ability in Nigeria

International J. Soc. Sci. & Education 2012 Vol. 2 Issue 4, ISSN: 2223-4934 E and 2227-393X Print Assessing the Impact of Examination Malpractices on the Measurement of Ability in Nigeria By Emaikwu, Sunday Oche Department of Educational Foundations & General Studies College of Agricultural and Science Education Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi Benue State, Nigeria, West Africa Abstract The purpose of this research work was to assess the impact of examination malpractices on the measurement of ability in Nigeria. The design of this study is survey research. A sample of 300 students and 100 lecturers randomly selected from four universities in North Central Nigeria was used for the study. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher. Four research questions were answered and one hypothesis was tested. The result indicates that lecturers and students indulge in examination malpractice in Nigeria. It is affirmed that examination malpractice is caused by undue emphasis on paper qualification, fear of failure and inadequate preparation among other factors. The result also shows that the major types of examination malpractice being perpetuated in universities are possession of foreign materials during examination, collusion by students to cheat in examination and continuous assessment malpractice. It reveals further that examination malpractice leads to lack of confidence in Nigerian educational products, results in half-baked graduates, discourages hard work and lowers the standard of education. The article maintains that the calamity of examination malpractice is not just the havoc it wrecks in our educational system but the gradual indoctrination of youths into the practice of fraud. It is recommended that examination malpractice legislation should be enforced and that guidance and counseling services be adequately provided in universities to minimize the incidence of examination malpractice. Keywords: Education, examination malpractice, measurement of ability, Nigeria. 1. Introduction Western education has become synonymous with modern civilization, enlightenment and socialization. This is because the more advanced nations of the world, with their superlative and result-oriented qualitative education have become the unassailable parameters for human transformation, innovation and social change. Education is expected to train the mind of its recipient for effective performance. It equips the individual with the information necessary for high level of human functioning. To be regarded as an educated person, an individual is expected to pass through the whole process of examination conducted by a competent and recognized body. Adequate and proper acquisition of relevant knowledge and skills in school subjects and disciplines of study is invariably a function of quality education (Okara, 2012). Examination as part of evaluation is aimed at determining a learner s level of skill acquisition or intellectual competence and understanding after a given training. Evaluation usually enables the teacher to be effectively ready for further teaching as this form of evaluation is often regarded as a feedback. But when examination is not properly conducted, the expected feedback may not result. Consequently the result of such evaluation leads to wrong decision and judgment which affect the teacher, the learner, the entire education industry as well as the society. A reality that can not be ignored is that no matter how lofty, how enviable, how laudable, how gigantic the education goals are, how relevant the school curriculum is organized, if no provision is made for accurate evaluation of learning progress, all these efforts will be a wasteful venture (Duze, 2011). Examination could be conducted for the purpose of selection, classification and certification. For examination to be valid and reliable it has to be 748

Emaikwu, Sunday Oche administered under conducive and uniform conditions where examinees are made to adhere to stipulated rules and regulations. Measurement of ability has always been an important part of the school system such that even the habitual absentees normally turn up to school and present themselves for testing on examination days (Emaikwu, 2011). The essence of testing is to reveal the latent ability of an examinee. The term ability connotes the characteristics of the examinees that the test is intended to measure. It includes factual knowledge, specific skills and general skills. For an examinee s ability to be measured, the examinee has to respond to a sample of questions. A test score based on this sample of questions would be an approximate indicator of examinee s ability. In Nigeria the educational system and other systems are crisis-ridden. Nigerian educational system has degenerated into a decadent, morbid institution plagued with fear of blood-thirsty secret-cult members, drug-driven violence and anarchy as well as rampant cases of examination malpractice. Some Nigerian students have become so wild that they abduct their teachers and even heads of institutions and yet get away with it. Some institutions of higher learning can no longer boldly claim to be the citadel of excellence they have hitherto been noted for in Nigeria. The sanctity of examination process has been trivialized by a lot of malpractice. Some recent researches have shown that majority of students who gained admissions into tertiary institutions in Nigeria are products of examination malpractice (Eba & Emaikwu, 2007). Examination malpractice according to Usman (2005) is cheating in the examination or any intention to benefit or give undue advantage to oneself or another by deceit or fraud, before, during and after examination. Examination malpractice is already becoming a culture in Nigerian educational scene because it is been condoned by most parents, students, teachers and lecturers (Ojerinde, 2010). Students often go into examination halls with pistols and daggers to take care of anyone that would forestall them from cheating. At risk are invigilators and question papers; hence Nigerian educational system is gravely threatened. The frequency of occurrence of examination malpractice indicates a state of hopelessness and helplessness. The incidence of examination malpractice has become so endemic that the penalty hitherto melted out to its perpetrators is almost having no statistical significant effects on them. There is an astronomical increase in the number of people and institutions involved in this social malaise. As a result of frequent cases of examination malpractice, the society is losing confidence in the certificates awarded by some institutions and examination bodies (Eba & Emaikwu, 2007; Ogum, 2007). Cheating in examination has become so internalized and legitimized that some people now regard it as a normal process of passing examination in Nigeria. The calamity of examination malpractice is not just the havoc it wrecks in our educational system but the gradual introduction of youths into the practice of fraud. Owing to malpractices in universities, examination results tend to give a false picture of the state of affairs; hence a good number of school graduates can not defend the grades obtained in examinations (Ada, 2004). A crisis situation is bound to develop in the educational sector, if the trend is not prevented. Malpractices in examinations have become so widespread that many people doubt the quality of graduates from the Nigerian educational system. It has led to the questioning of the validity and reliability of the examinations as well as the authenticity of the results and certificates obtained. A widespread examination malpractice in tertiary institutions in Nigeria has led to a situation where the use of formal examination as basis for determining the level of candidates proficiency at absorbing, reproducing and applying knowledge has become impossible. The ugly incidence of examination malpractice accounts for the existence of several qualifying examinations in Nigeria such as post university matriculation aptitude tests, job placement aptitude test, among others to authenticate candidates certificates. Since academic credentials are the only acceptable indices of educational attainment, the school going population now see passing examination as a do or die affair in Nigeria. As a result of examination malpractice, some Nigerian graduates can not even write comprehensive letters, let alone read and understand newspapers articles. Some university graduates who 749

Assessing the Impact of Examination Malpractices on the Measurement of Ability in Nigeria are products of examination malpractice have become a reserved army of the unemployable (Duze, 2011). There is a general worry about the poor quality of education in Nigeria. The image of Nigerian education has been greatly tarnished as a result of examination malpractice which characterizes the nation s institutions of learning. Maduabum (2009) noted that examination malpractices are noticeable in every state of the federation in Nigeria and in all the school systems. Uzoagulu (2008) affirmed that giraffing, coping, and taking handwritten materials and textbooks into the examination hall rank first among other types of examination malpractices. Onyechere (2006) observed that perpetrators of examination malpractice employ different methods camouflaged with various code names. He reported that examination malpractice could be caused by fear of failure, undue emphasis on paper qualification and lack of resources for teaching and teacher-related factors. Cheating has become a national phenomenon to the extent that forging certificates to gain admission or employment is a usual habit among desperate Nigerians even among the political class. Several members of the legislative and executive arms of government in the last few years have been accused of certificate forgery in Nigeria and some have fallen from grace to grass as a result of examination malpractices. The case of a former Speaker of the House of Representative in Nigeria who falsely claimed to have acquired a degree certificate from University of Toronto but to the utter perplexity of all and sundry, was only a secondary school certificate holder is still fresh in the minds of many Nigerians. Examination malpractice has adverse effects on all facets of society, the individual, the home, the school, the government, the private organization and the international community negatively (Obasi, 2009). To curb the incidence of examination malpractice, it has been recommended that the society should deemphasize paper qualification for determining the fate of candidates for job placement; government should ensure that offenders are punished. Mallum (2009) maintained that if paper qualification is deemphasized, most of the students will know that there is no gain in obtaining a certificate that can not be defended. Usman (2005) opined that public enlightenment campaigns should be mounted to expose the ills of examination malpractice. Ajayi (2009) felt that examination malpractice cannot be curbed unless the entire society displays high degree of responsibility, integrity and honesty by fighting this menace with all vigour and rigour it deserves. This study therefore assesses the prevalence, causes, and consequences of examination malpractice on the measurement of ability in Nigerian universities. Research Questions: The following research questions guided the study: 1. What is the prevalence of examination malpractice in universities? 2. What are the types of examination malpractice being perpetuated in universities? 3. What are the causes of examination malpractice? 4. What are the impacts of examination malpractice? 5. What are the solutions to the problem of examination malpractice in the universities? Hypothesis: 1. There is no significant difference in the mean perception between students and lecturers of the existence of examination malpractice in universities. 2. Research Methodology The design of this research is a survey research. The study was carried out in four universities in North Central Nigeria. The population of the study was made up of all the 2010/2011 final year students and all their lecturers in faculties of education of the four universities. A total of 3780 students formed the student population for the study. The researcher obtained the information from students affair units of the four universities. The sample for the study is made up of four hundred (400) respondents randomly 750

Emaikwu, Sunday Oche selected from the population of lecturers and students. The sample was made up of 100 lecturers, 160 male and 140 female students. The students in the sample have studied for at least three years in the universities and have gotten information about examination malpractices. A simple random sampling technique was used in the study. A structured questionnaire was developed and used for data collection. It has a four-point rating scale and the items were anchored on a continuum of strongly agree to strongly disagree with items dealing with the prevalence, causes, consequences and solutions to examination malpractices. Two specialists in measurement and evaluation as well as a psychologist validated the items of the instrument. The reliability coefficient of the instrument was 0.85 using Cronbach alpha coefficient. The data collected were analyzed according to research questions and the hypothesis. Descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation and percentage were used to answer the research questions while t- test statistic was used to test the hypothesis at 5% level of significance. 3. Presentation of results Research question 1: What is the prevalence of examination malpractice in universities? Table 1 shows the responses of lecturers and students on the prevalence of examination malpractice in universities. Table 1: Responses of students and lecturers on prevalence of examination malpractice Statement SA AG DA SD x s Remark 1. Students frequently indulge in examination malpractice 185 116 40 59 3.07 1.07 Accept 2. Lecturers frequently indulge in examination malpractice 208 118 48 26 3.27 0.91 Accept 3. Malpractice occurs before, during and after examination 240 110 23 27 3.41 0.87 Accept The result in Table 1 shows that 75% of the lecturers and students affirm that students indulge in examination malpractice, while 82% of lecturers and students affirm that lecturers also indulge in examination malpractice. This therefore implies that there is prevalence of examination malpractices in universities. Meanwhile 85% of lecturers and students equally affirm that examination malpractice often occurs before, during and after examination in universities. As observed from Table 1, any item with the mean response of 2.5 and above is considered accepted while an item with a mean below 2.5 is rejected. Research Question 2: What are the types of examination malpractice being perpetuated in universities? Table 2 shows the responses of lecturers and students on the types of examination malpractice being perpetuated in universities. Table 2: Lecturers and students responses on types of examination malpractice Statement SA AG DA SD x s Remark 4. Leakages 169 160 37 34 3.16 0.91 Accept 5. Impersonation 139 130 110 21 2.97 0.91 Accept 6. Continuous assessment malpractice 260 59 35 46 3.33 1.04 Accept 7. Script swapping 183 129 42 46 3.12 1.00 Accept 8. Bringing in foreign materials 197 187 10 6 3.48 0.62 Accept 9. Altering of marks and grades 23 110 27 240 1.79 1.03 Reject 10. Collusion to cheat/coping from one another 241 150 4 5 3.57 0.58 Accept 11. Marking malpractice by teachers 49 46 228 77 2.14 0.95 Reject 751

Assessing the Impact of Examination Malpractices on the Measurement of Ability in Nigeria Results in Table 2 shows that the major types of examination malpractice include collusion to cheat/coping from one another, bringing in foreign materials, continuous assessment malpractice, script swapping and leakages among others. Other types of examination malpractice such as altering of marks and grades as well as marking malpractice by teachers have their mean values less than 2.5 and are therefore not considered as major types of examination malpractice being perpetuated in Nigerian universities. Research question 3: What are the causes of examination malpractice? The responses of lecturers and students on the causes of examination malpractices in universities are shown in Table 3. Table 3: Responses of lecturers and students on the causes of examination malpractice Statement SA AG DA SD x s Remark 12. Undue paper qualification 235 148 10 7 3.53 0.64 Accept 13. Fear of failure 270 100 21 9 3.58 0.69 Accept 14. Inadequate preparation 180 170 20 30 3.25 0.86 Accept 15. Lack of resources for teaching 44 96 140 120 2.16 0.98 Reject 16. Teacher related-factors 37 53 150 160 1.92 0.95 Reject 17. Societal related-factors 261 100 18 21 3.50 0.81 Accept The result in Table 3 shows that majority of lecturers and students accepted that the causes of examination malpractice include: fear of failure, undue emphasis on paper qualification, society relatedfactors and inadequate preparation. Other factors such as lack of resources for teaching and teacherrelated factors were not considered as major causes of examination malpractice in Nigerian universities. Research Question 4: What is the impact of examination malpractice? The responses of teachers and students on the impact of examination malpractice are presented in the table below. Table 4: Teachers and students responses on the impact of examination malpractice Statement SA AG DA SD x s Remark 18. Half-baked graduates 270 110 15 5 3.61 0.62 Accept 19. Lack of confidence on our educational system 280 90 6 24 3.57 0.80 Accept 20. High drop out rates from universities 90 110 130 70 2.55 1.02 Accept 21. Discouragement of hard work 270 96 14 20 3.54 0.79 Accept 22. Lowers the standard of education 271 112 6 11 3.61 0.66 Accept 23. Decreases validity and reliability of measurement process 300 68 17 15 3.63 0.69 Accept 24. Breeds a generation of fraudsters and other social vices 256 121 13 10 3.56 0.80 Accept The results in Table 4 show that majority of the lecturers and students accepted that the most serious consequences of examination malpractice are decrease in the validity and reliability of measurement process, production of half-baked graduates, lowering of academic standard and lack of confidence in our educational system. Other notable consequences include breeding of a generation of fraudsters and other social vices, discouragement of hard work and emergence of high drop-out rate from universities whenever offenders are caught by university authorities. Research Question 5: What are the solutions to the problem of examination malpractice in the universities? The responses of lecturers and students on the solutions to the problem of examination malpractice in the universities are presented in Table 5. 752

Emaikwu, Sunday Oche Table 5: Lecturers and students responses on the solutions to the problem of examination malpractices in universities Statement SA AG DA SD x s Remark 25. Provision of adequate teaching resources 161 80 70 89 2.78 1.19 Accept 26. Inculcation of moral values and instructions 262 107 15 16 3.54 0.75 Accept 27. Reduction of emphasis on paper qualification 221 139 16 24 3.39 0.82 Accept 28. Guidance and counseling services 235 129 13 23 3.44 0.81 Accept 29. Implementation of the relevant decrees 180 100 46 74 2.97 0.14 Accept The results in Table 5 show that the solutions to examination malpractice in universities should include inculcation of moral values and instruction, provision of guidance and counseling services, reduction of emphasis on paper qualification, implementation of the relevant decrees and provision of adequate teaching and learning resources. Hypothesis 1: There is no significant difference in the mean perception between students and lecturers of the existence of examination malpractice in universities. In order to test the hypothesis, the summary of the mean perception between students and lecturers on the existence of examination malpractice in universities is given in Table 6. Table 6: Test of difference in mean perception between lecturers and students of the existence of examination malpractice in universities. Group Mean Standard deviation N DF α t-cal t-critical Lecturers 3.43 0.82 100 Students 3.41 0.87 300 398 0.05 1.87 1.96 p 0.05, not significant Table 6 shows that lecturers have a mean score of 3.43 and standard deviation of 0.82, while students have a mean score of 3.41 with a standard deviation of 0.87. Table 6 also shows that the t-calculated value is 1.87; using degree of freedom of 398 at 5% level of significance, the t-critical value of 1.96 is obtained. Since the t-calculated value of 1.87 is less than the t-tabulated value of 1.96, the test statistic is not significant. Hence the null hypothesis is accepted. The result shows that there is no significant difference in the mean perception between students and lecturers on the existence of examination malpractice in universities. Any physical difference observed between the mean scores of lecturers and students is such that might have arisen from sampling errors or any other variations in the research. There is the need to calculate the effect size for this independent sample t-test statistic which yielded a non-significant result. Effect size statistics provide an indication of the magnitude of the differences between the two groups being statistically compared. The procedure for calculating eta squared for the 2 t independent t-test statistic in Table 6 is provided by the formula: Eta squared = 2 t + ( n1 + n2 2) From Table 6, the t-calculated is 1.87, n 1 =100 and n 2 =300, the eta squared could be calculated by replacing these values in the formula to get: 2 ( 1.87) = 0.008709 0.0087 2 1.87 + (100+ 300 2) ( ) The guidelines for interpreting the values of eta squared are: 0.01 = small effect, 0.06 = moderate effect, 0.14=large effect. In this hypothesis, the eta value of 0.0087 is a very small effect size. Expressed as a 753

Assessing the Impact of Examination Malpractices on the Measurement of Ability in Nigeria percentage, (i.e. multiply the effect size by 100), only 0.87 per cent of the variance in the lecturer variable could be explained by the student variable. In other words, effect size statistics which provides an indication of the magnitude of the difference between the two groups being statistically compared is only 0.87 per cent. 4. Discussion of Results The first research question sought to find out if examination malpractice does exist in Nigeria universities. There is clear evidence from lecturers and students that examination malpractices are prevalent in universities. The result in Table 1 showed that 75% of the lecturers and students affirm that students frequently indulge in examination malpractice, while 82% of lecturers and students affirm that lecturers also indulge in examination malpractice. This therefore implies that there is prevalence of examination malpractices in universities. Meanwhile 85% of lecturers and students equally affirmed that examination malpractices often occur before, during and after examination in universities. This finding is consistent with Maduabum (2009) who reported that examination malpractices are noticeable in every state of the federation in Nigeria and in all school systems. The result also affirms Duze (2011) submission that since academic credentials are the only acceptable indices of educational attainment, the school-going populations in Nigeria see passing examination as a do or die affair. Confirming the result of this finding, Emaikwu and Eba (2007) affirmed that research evidence depicts that majority of students who gained admissions into tertiary institutions in Nigeria in recent times, are products of examination malpractice. Examination malpractice according to Ojerinde (2010) is already becoming a culture in the Nigerian educational scene, because examination malpractice is condoned by many parents, students, teachers and lecturers. Malpractices in examinations have become so widespread that almost everyone is anxious about the quality of graduates from Nigerian educational system; except, the perpetrators of examination malpractices. A widespread examination malpractice in tertiary institutions in Nigeria has led to a situation where the use of formal examination as basis for determining the level of candidates proficiency at absorbing, reproducing and applying knowledge has become impossible. The ugly incidence of examination malpractice accounts for the existence of several qualifying examinations in Nigeria such as post university matriculation aptitude tests, job placement aptitude test, etc, to authenticate candidates certificates. The results of the study also reveal that there are different types of examination malpractices in Nigerian universities. Results in Table 2 shows that the major types of examination malpractice include collusion to cheat/coping from one another, possessing foreign materials during examination, continuous assessment malpractice, script swapping and leakages among others. Other types of examination malpractice such as altering of marks and grades as well as marking malpractice by teachers have their mean values less than 2.5 and are therefore not considered as major types of examination malpractice being perpetuated in Nigerian universities. The result of the study agrees partly with the study conducted by Uzoagulu (2008) who noted that giraffing, coping from one another, taking handwritten materials and textbooks into the examination hall rank first among other types of examination malpractice at all levels of education in Nigeria. The continuous assessment malpractice is frequently practised by lecturers. Many lecturers hardly mark continuous assessment scripts and so students are awarded marks arbitrarily. Students often bring into examination hall, foreign materials that they feel could assist them to pass examination. This finding is also consistent with that of Onyechere (2006) who observed that culprits employ different methods coded with various deceptive names. Research question three examines the causes of examination malpractices. The result in Table 3 shows that majority of lecturers and students accepted that the causes of examination malpractice include: fear of failure, undue emphasis on paper qualification, societal related-factors and inadequate preparation; while other factors such as lack of resources for teaching and teacher-related factors were not considered as the major causes of examination malpractice in Nigerian universities. The findings agree in part with Ozuagulu (2008) who observed that examination malpractice could be caused by fear of failure, undue 754

Emaikwu, Sunday Oche emphasis on paper qualification and lack of resources for teaching and teacher-related factors. This finding differ slightly with that of Ozuagulu (2008) in that, factors such as lack of resources for teaching and teacher-related factors were not considered as major causes of examination malpractice in Nigerian universities. This could be as a result of federal governments current intervention programme using education tax fund to provide resources for teaching in universities. Research question four investigated the impact of examination malpractices on the measurement of ability. The results in Table 4 show that majority of the lecturers and students accepted that the most serious consequences of examination malpractice are decrease in the validity and reliability of measurement process, production of half-baked graduates, lowering of academic standard and lack of confidence in our educational system. Other notable consequences include breeding of a generation of fraudsters and other social vices, discouragement of hard work and emergence of high drop out rates from universities whenever offenders are caught by university authorities. The findings agree with that of Ogum (2007) who also noted that examination malpractices make nonsense of our educational system and that the credibility of most certificates obtained from Nigerian universities are highly questionable. Obasi (2009) reported that the impacts of examination malpractice in the society are catastrophic and that it affects all facets of society, the individual, the home, the school, the government, the private organization and the international community negatively. The result resonates the report of Emaikwu & Eba (2007) who submitted that students go into examination hall in Nigeria with pistols and daggers to take care of anyone that would forestall them from cheating. According to them, at risks are invigilators and question papers and hence the survival of Nigerian educational system is gravely grossly threatened. The frequency of occurrence of examination malpractices indicates a state of hopelessness and helplessness in Nigeria. Duze (2011) was correct to have submitted that some university graduates who are products of examination malpractice have become a reserved army of the unemployable in Nigeria. It is obvious today that examination malpractice has introduced some measures of suspicion of our certificates. The situation is that the society is gradually losing faith in the certificate awarded by some educational institutions in Nigeria (Ogum, 2007). Research question five seeks to find the solutions to the problem of examination malpractices. The results in Table 5 shows that solutions to examination malpractice in universities should include inculcation of moral values and instruction, provision of guidance and counseling services, reduction of emphasis on paper qualification, enforcement of relevant examination malpractice legislations and provision of adequate teaching and learning resources. This result is similar to the conclusion researched by Mallum (2009) who submitted that if paper qualification is de-emphasized, most of the students will know that there is no gain in obtaining a certificate that can not be defended. Usman (2005) on his own part had a contrary view about the solution to examination malpractice. He specifically opined that public enlightenment campaigns should be mounted to expose the ills of examination malpractice. Ajayi (2009) felt that examination malpractice cannot be curbed unless the entire society displays high degree of responsibility, integrity and honesty by fighting this menace with all vigour and rigour it deserves. To curb the incidence of examination malpractice, the society should therefore de-emphasize strict paper qualification for determining the fate of candidates for job placement; government should ensure that strict measure awaits offenders through the implementation of appropriate laws. The result of the hypothesis tested showed that there is no significant difference in the mean perception between students and lecturers on the existence of examination malpractice in universities. The effect size statistics which provides an indication of the magnitude of the differences between the two groups being statistically compared is only 0.87 per cent. This invariably depicts that the major stakeholders in the school system have consented that there is high incidence rate of examination malpractice in universities in Nigeria. 755

Assessing the Impact of Examination Malpractices on the Measurement of Ability in Nigeria 5. Conclusion Lecturers and students affirmed that there is high prevalence of examination malpractices in universities as the two groups have asserted that examination malpractice often occurs before, during and after examination in universities. The hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference in the mean perception between students and lecturers of the existence of examination malpractice in universities in Nigeria was accepted. The major types of examination malpractice often witnessed in universities include collusion to cheat/coping from one another, possession of foreign materials during examination, continuous assessment malpractice, script swapping and leakages among others. Lecturers and students accept that the major causes of examination malpractice in universities include: fear of failure, undue emphasis on paper qualification, societal related-factors and inadequate preparation. The most serious consequences of examination malpractice are decrease in the validity and reliability of measurement process, production of half baked graduates, lowering of academic standard and lack of confidence in our educational system. Other consequences include breeding of a generation of fraudsters and other social vices, discouragement of hard work and emergence of high drop-out rate from universities. The incidence of examination malpractice in universities could be curbed if there is emphasis on the inculcation of moral values and instruction, provision of guidance and counseling services, reduction of emphasis on paper qualification, enforcement of the relevant examination malpractice laws and provision of adequate teaching and learning resources. 6. Recommendations Based on the result of these findings, the following recommendations are suggested: 1. Emphasis should be placed on moral instructions and value re-orientation in our universities to combat examination malpractices. Students should be taught the virtues of hard work, honesty and the dignity of labour. 2. The undue emphasis placed on paper qualifications should be reduced so as to minimize the rate at which students indulge in examination malpractices to acquire paper qualifications. There is the need to identify other alternative ways of assessing students ability other than conventional examinations. Graduates should be subjected to vigorous tests in the course of seeking for employment so as to assess their abilities and as a means of reducing examination malpractices. 3. The administration and conduct of examination should be entrusted to the care of men and women of proven integrity in universities. 4. Government has enacted the relevant legislations on examination malpractices. These laws must be enforced to the letter to serve as deterrent to others. 5. Guidance and counseling services should be adopted in universities so as to reduce cases of examination malpractices. 6. There is need to provide adequate teaching and learning materials. Libraries and laboratories should be stocked with the needed textbooks, chemicals and apparatus to promote effective teaching and learning. 756

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